Why the Affordable Care Act could raise the healthcare insurance premiums for 11 million small business employees and lower rates for 6 million others.

Provisions of the Affordable Care Act could raise the healthcare insurance premiums of 11 million small business employees while lowering rates for 6 million others, according to a new analysis by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Office of the Actuary, an agency of the U.S. Health and Human Services Administration.

Here is a quick look a what the report covers:

If the Affordable Care Act does not require small businesses to provide insurance to workers, how can it make small business health insurance premiums increase?

It can’t. Obviously, if a small business doesn’t provide health insurance, the premium can’t increase.

And, as small businesses with less than 50 employees don’t have to provide health insurance under the law, those choosing not to won’t see their premiums increase.

If the Affordable Care Act does not require small businesses to provide insurance to workers, then what small businesses does this report refer to?

Even though they are not required to, most small businesses with more than 10 employees do provide health insurance to employees. The report is focused on the impact on health insurance premiums of these small businesses, the ones that already provide access to health insurance.

Why does the Affordable Care Act cause the price to change on premiums related to policies that were around before the law?

A provision of the law requires any coverage accessed through a company plan to to comply to the minimum provisions included in the Affordable Care Act. In the past, insurance companies could base premiums on the ages of a company’s employees. Under the new law, insurance premiums can’t be based on the age of a company’s employees.